


At Second Sight

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Fresh Perspectives [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-20
Updated: 2011-10-20
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:36:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/267091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Bite your tongue John Bradshaw Hotchner, every story my father ever told me was true.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Second Sight

**Author's Note:**

> This is soooo AU I don’t even know if I am going to find my way out of the rabbit hole. You can blame Murry, we got to talking one night about Hotch’s future kids with Emily and Rossi’s future kids with JJ and this is what happened. I had Gabriel Macht in mind when writing about older Jack, and Eliza Dushku for Stella.

Jack walked into The Pub and looked around. It was crowded tonight; it was always crowded. He was looking for one person in particular and his hazel eyes scanned the crowd of happy drunkards. Suddenly, he was tackled. A woman just jumped in his arms before Jack knew what hit him. Some FBI Agent he was. Instinctually, his hands cupped her ass so she wouldn’t hit the floor. Since her legs were wrapped around him, that probably wasn’t an issue.

“John Bradshaw Hotchner, I live and breathe. Hey there, sailor, it’s been too long.”

He barely had time to think before her mouth covered his. A moan escaped his throat, completely without his consent. His tongue came alive as his hands did the same thing, squeezing her ass. Just as fast as it started, Jack jumped back as if burnt.

“Hey!” He quickly deposited Stella Rossi on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Saying hello,” She replied.

“A wave suits the same purpose.”

“Oh please,” Stella waved away the notion. “It’s me, Jack Jack; do I really need to wave? I know there's an adventurous streak under that snazzy Brook Brothers suit.”

“It’s Sean John.” Jack replied.

Stella smiled. She took both of his hands, leading him toward the crowded bar.

“C'mon, let’s have a drink.”

“Well…”

“You came to have a drink with me, right?”

“Not exactly.” Jack said.

“But you're here to see me?”

“Stella…”

“I'm a smart cookie, John Bradshaw, don’t you think? Alex!” she called for the bartender.

“If memory serves, you have a Masters Degree from Georgetown University.”

“Yes, I do, but that’s not what I meant.” She looked at the bartender. “I'm going to have a High Life. Johnny here…”

“A Sloe Comfortable Screw, please.”

Stella grinned at him as the bartender walked away. She hopped up on the lone empty bar stool, pulling Jack to her by his tie. She smelled good; she looked really good. He liked her dark rinse flare jeans, suited for her curves. She also wore a purple tank top and black motorcycle boots. Her dyed auburn hair caressed her shoulders. When her beer came, she took a healthy sip.

“Did you know they used to call this the champagne of beer?” She asked.

“I heard that somewhere.”

“Probably from your brother…he’s a total fountain of random knowledge. I find that so completely loveable.”

Jack smiled, thinking about Dylan. He did seem to know something on a large, random assortment of subjects.

“So, you’ve been watching me?” Stella said. “Don’t worry; I know you were put up to it by our fathers, and only out of love and concern. You're good, not easy to spot, but I'm good too.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about; I came in for a drink.”

“Look how cute you are when you lie. It brings out this little dimple on your chin.” Stella pointed to it.

“I'm not…” Jack couldn’t bring himself to finish. He had been watching her, on and off, for nearly three months. Jack had no idea why their fathers put him up to it but he did what they asked. Stella had been in the FBI for over a year now…she seemed to be able to handle herself. “How is Baltimore treating you?”

“It’s a little boring but we all have to start somewhere. There are two spots on the Missing Persons squad so I sent my application up.”

“There's nothing boring about Missing Persons.” Jack replied sipping his drink. “There are also two spots in the BAU; I was surprised your file didn’t cross my desk.”

“I'm a newbie, Jack; I don’t want anyone thinking I'm using anything other than my talent to get ahead. My father founded the BAU; that doesn’t mean I get a free pass.”

“You really believe that Uncle Dave founded the BAU? Those were just stories.”

“Bite your tongue, John Bradshaw Hotchner, every story my father ever told me was true. OK, so I know some other guys were there too like Jason Gideon and Max Ryan but you know what, that’s for their kids to brag about.”

“I guess I never looked at it that way.”

“My Dad always called me his little fresh perspective.” Stella said smiling.

“I’d have to agree. So nepotism is keeping you from applying to the BAU?”

“Well there's you as well.”

“What about me? I would love to work side by side.”

“It would be nearly impossible to conduct a passionate love affair while working together, don’t you think? I mean our parents did it but there were so many rules and we could skip that altogether by staying in different units. That silly fraternization rule is still on the books, you know. No one obeys it but I know you, Jack Jack, you're a stickler for the rules. So if I stay in Baltimore and you're in Quantico, we can let the sparks fly.”

“Stella, how much have you had to drink tonight?” Jack asked. He wore the Hotchner straight face that his father made famous decades before.

“Mmm, I can walk a straight line and probably touch the tip of my nose a few times. Still, I'm taking a cab home just be to be safe. Why?”

“I'm just asking. You're a very interesting girl…woman.”

“And you're adorable.” She pinched his dimpled cheeks.

“You're intoxicated.”

“You know what, you talk just like Uncle Hotch; genetics are funny that way. I think you should ask me out.”

“Because I'm adorable?” Jack asked.

“Well, yes. But you owe me because I asked you out last month but you were busy.”

It wasn’t exactly a date. Jack was speaking at a cold case symposium in New York and ran into Stella there. After his question and answer session she invited him out to have lunch in Manhattan. He had to decline, which he found regretful; there was work to be done.

“I don’t date much.” He admitted.

“Surely that worries your mother.”

“She made no mention of it to me.”

“Of course she didn’t. Why don’t you date much…I think you're fascinating?”

“My hours aren’t exactly conducive to building lasting relationships.” Jack had been engaged once, many moons ago. He was in love and happy, excited about starting a life with a woman he loved deeply. Then she broke it off. Anne didn’t think Jack would ever be able to devote his life to anything other than the FBI. The idea of signing on for coming second, or even third, till death do us part was not very enticing for her. The decision broke Jack’s heart.

“I get that; I'm in the FBI too. I know all about Hoover’s hours.” Stella replied.

“Half the time, more than half the time, I'm not even in town. We travel at least 250 days a year.” Jack said. “I don’t have the time or…”

“So you'd rather be a bachelor? You're thirty four years old Jack, its time.”

“Time for what?” He asked.

“It's time to test a different hypothesis.”

The bartender brought another High Life for Stella. Jack declined alcohol; he asked for a glass of water. If he was going to get Special Agent Rossi home safely, which he was, he needed to be sober.

“Hey Stel, you left your purse over at the table.”

“Oh thanks.” Stella grabbed the tiny Kate Spade bag. “Hey Jack, this is Special Agent Daniela Lopez of the Baltimore field office. Dani, this is Supervisory Special Agent John Bradshaw Hotchner.”

“It’s Jack.” He extended his hand.

“Oh my God, Jack Hotchner; you're a legend.” She vigorously shook his hand.

“I'm sure that I'm not.”

“Oh yes you are. You caught the Invisible Man.”

“My team caught Michaelsen.”

“You're being modest; you broke that case. I actually studied you in the Academy. You're the youngest FBI Field Agent of the Year in history. Some, actually everybody, calls you our generation’s Jason Gideon. You know, not the nervous breakdown thing, but the genius thing. Not that your own father wasn’t awesome…he captured The Reaper. We…”

“Dani,” Stella held up her hand. “Slow down before you fall out. He’s just a regular guy. Adorable, yes, brilliant, mmm hmm, but regular just the same.”

“Oh,” Dani blushed from embarrassment. “I'm so sorry.”

“Its alright.” Jack smiled. “It was very nice to meet you.”

“You too, really.” She looked at Stella. “We’re heading out, sweetie. Are you alright?”

“I'm good. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Goodnight.”

Dani walked away and Stella pulled a cigarette from the crumpled pack in her purse.

“That’s a dirty habit.” Jack said, pulling a lighter from his inside jacket pocket.

“And yet you have a lighter.” She replied.

“I was a Boy Scout in my youth.”

“Always be prepared?”

“Something like that.”

Stella sipped her beer and smoked her cigarette. She studied Jack as he studied the room. He really was attractive but it was more than that. She didn’t quite know how to describe it but Jack was open and closed at the same time. There was something in him that wanted to be explored while he seemed to be doing his best to close it off. The encounters they’d had over the two and a half years since Stella started at the Academy were always overly formal.

He seemed to shut down if she tried to dig any deeper, like turning down her lunch date. She didn’t know why that was. She knew he had been engaged once, a long time ago. She knew he wasn’t seeing anyone and never seemed to be. She knew he was one of the best FBI agents in the field today. She could also see the loneliness in his eyes. It mingled with defiance, bravery, and an itty bitty spark of mischief. Stella wanted to grab that spark.

“Tell me something, Jack Jack.”

“OK.”

“Did my father actually ask you to look after me?”

“Something to that effect, but surely he was doing it out of love. No one knows better than your father that you can take care of yourself. Still, you are his little girl. I think he mostly wanted to make sure these guys were keeping their hands to themselves. I'm surprised how often Quantico resembles a college dormitory.”

“I'm not. Guys definitely keep their hands to themselves though, I have a brown belt.”

“Interesting.” Jack smiled again.

“Anyway, I'm considering being taken.” Stella said.

Jack kept smiling, having a feeling he already was. It surely wasn’t the one drink that made him feel so giddy. He thought it might be that kiss. Shame on him for not enjoying it just a little more while he had the chance. Maybe if he asked nicely she’d give him another. Jack couldn’t believe he was even thinking about something like that.

He’d known Stella since diapers, not that they spent much time together. They grew up in the same town, their parents were best friends, but she and her little sister Meghan were just a few kids he knew. Jack knew a lot of kids growing up. She was nine years younger than him; the same age as his brother Dylan. He knew her older brother Henry a little better. They were closer in age and Henry was in law enforcement as well, a Virginia State Trooper.

“You’ve got a funny look on your face,” Stella said. “Tell me what you're thinking.”

“That’s no fun,” Jack grinned. “You should guess.”

“You're the profiler, not me. Still, that might be a good idea. I have a pretty active imagination…you’ve been warned.”

“Yes, I have.”

***

“Hey, I apologize for Dani. She’s quite excitable.”

Jack held the passenger door of his Ford Mustang for her. Once inside, Stella leaned over and unlocked his door. Jack buckled his seatbelt before starting the engine. His baby purred and tonight was no different. George Michael and Queen came out of the speakers; he turned down the volume.

 _Each morning I get up I die a little_  
Can't barely stand on my feet  
Take a look in the mirror, I cry  
Lord what you’re doing to me  
I've spent all my years believing you  
But I just can't get no relief, lord  
Somebody, oh somebody  
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

“Do people really think that way about me?” He asked, looking at her.

“You do have legendary status within the Bureau, and surely in the Academy. What I like most about you is that you had no idea. A lot of guys I know want to be you so desperately, for all the wrong reasons.”

“They don’t even know me.” Jack reasoned.

“When has that ever stopped anyone?” Stella asked.

“I stumbled into solving that case, Stella.”

“Whether you stumbled or flew, it’s still solved. Kevin Lee Michaelsen killed 37 women that we know of, probably more. I for one am happy that he’s off the street. There's nothing wrong with being extraordinary, SSA Hotchner.”

“I am so not that.” He checked his mirror before pulling out of the parking space.

“What are you then?” Stella asked.

“I became an FBI Agent because it’s in my blood. Both of my parents tried to talk me out of it, though Mom came around to the idea before Dad did. Yes, I am a perfectionist. I'm also driven, I always have been. It didn’t matter what job I ended up doing, I would be doing it just like this. I never intended to break that case…I was studying it like everyone else.

"I do admit to being a bit obsessed with it. Sometimes I wish I had never pulled the file. My curiosity got the better of me. The only place to go from that height is down. My career had barely started; it was my second case in the BAU. We didn’t even know we were walking into the Invisible Man when we went to San Diego.”

“Kinda like how The Reaper was your dad’s first case.”

“I would be alright if I never heard that name again.” Jack said. “That bastard nearly killed my mother and father.”

“Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.”

“Its alright.” Jack glanced over at her, putting on a smile. “You didn’t tell me where I was taking you.”

“Home,” Stella replied.

“Where’s home?”

“You don’t know? Damn, Johnny Bravo, I thought you were doing a good tail job on me.”

“I thought it might be spooky if I took you straight to your door without asking. I didn’t want you to think of me as a stalker.”

“I wouldn’t. I don’t mind if you know where I live. You can take me home, unless you have something else in mind.”

Jack tried to hide his grin but his dimples gave him away. She lived at 3207 N Street, 2nd floor. He’d never been inside but he knew the overpriced apartments. It was a nice street with lots of overpriced apartments. The area was young, vibrant, and exciting, much like the woman herself.

“I just don’t want to be known for one thing, no matter how famous it is.” Jack went on. “Nearly once a week I get calls to sit down and be interviewed for the Invisible Man case.”

“I completely understand. David Rossi is my father; believe me I understand. Everyone just assumed I was where I was because of him. Hell, my mother was no wallflower either…she earned her stripes in the FBI.

"All the doubters, the haters, just made me work harder and shine brighter. I didn't graduate first in my class because of my parents; I did it because I was good. Nothing will ever make me ashamed of where I come from. If people don’t like it they can go to hell.” Stella shrugged. “It matters little to me.”

“What you said,”

“See how easy it is to just do what I say.”

Jack pulled up in front of her place as a light drizzle fell on his windshield. He put the car in park, turning on his blinkers. He actually hated DC; there was too much traffic and never any place to park. His place in Alexandria had private parking; that was a big seller.

“Do you want to come up for coffee?” she asked. “I make a mean cup of java.”

“I need to get some sleep. I’ll probably be running out of town soon so there might be restless nights.”

“OK,” Stella nodded. “Thanks for the ride. Goodnight, John Bradshaw Hotchner.”

“Stella?” She was halfway out of the car when Jack managed to spit out her name.

“Yeah?”

“Can I call you when I get back?”

“Yeah. I’ll keep the coffee offer on the table.”

“Perhaps dinner, and then coffee.” Jack said.

“I'm a lousy cook, Jack. I know it’s a shock, being an Italian girl and all, but I really like you so I thought I would share my one shortcoming.”

“I’ll buy dinner and you can supply the nightcap.”

“It’s a date.” Stella’s smile made her whole face glow.

She took his face into her hands and kissed him again. This time Jack made sure to enjoy every second of it. When her fingers ran up and through his sandy hair, he moaned softly into her mouth. Stella sighed as she pulled away. Her finger stroked his bottom lip.

“Goodnight,” She turned to leave the car.

“Goodnight.”

Jack made sure she was safely inside before pulling away. He had no idea what just happened but he recognized the butterflies in his stomach. He was thirty four years old and hadn’t felt this way in nearly a decade. How could it be possible with someone he’d known for most of his life; someone who just never registered on his radar. This was entirely his father’s fault and hers too.

As he headed to the expressway, Jack got a feeling that he was the last to know. What he was the last to know he wasn’t quite sure. He would ask Stella. She was smart and didn’t mind sharing her wisdom. Jack honestly didn’t care what they talked about as long as they did it sooner rather than later. He would talk to his mother first. She was the smartest of them all.

***


End file.
